Listen
by heystella
Summary: Once upon a time, Ichimaru Gin wasn't so sinister. GinxRangiku, for girlquinndreamer.


Listen  
by kaiyrah

Once upon a time, Ichimaru Gin wasn't so sinister. GinxRangiku, for girlquinndreamer.  
Bleach isn't mine.

---

_"Eat up. The fact that you fainted from hunger means you have it too, right? Power?"_

_"...You too?"_

_"Yeah, me too. Ichimaru Gin. Nice to meet you."_

_"Gin... What a strange name."_

---

They had decided to stay together, as it was very rare to find other children who had the same need to eat food as they did. It was much easier that way, and a lot better for her -- she had told him that she had been alone for as long as she could remember, and he made sure to set aside the day they met as special -- as that was the day she was not alone anymore.

The first time he left the hut that they had been living in, she went into a panic, frantically calling out for him, crying, looking everywhere around where he might possibly be. When she had exhausted all of her energy, she curled up into a corner of the hut and slept, nightmares plaguing her.

She was alone again, she was abandoned.

And then a gentle hand shook her shoulder, paired with a gentle voice. "Rangiku. Rangiku. Wake up. It's okay. You're okay. It's just a bad dream."

It was early morning at that time, and she yelled at him mercilessly, sobbing at the same time -- Why was he gone so long, why hadn't he told her where he went.

An apologetic smile. "Sorry. I'll tell you whenever I leave from now on."

And he did. After all, he wasn't so scheming back then.

But then he stopped.

---

He never told her exactly where he went whenever he left. And she didn't ask. She figured that it was his business and it wasn't her place to pry. Still, the only time he would come home in recent days was just before dinner to eat, and obviously to sleep. Their contact was significantly less these days. Rangiku couldn't say she was entirely happy with the arrangement, but she didn't want to burden him. She was indebted to him; the least she could do was respect his private affairs.

Even still... he made her weak. She felt helpless whenever he wasn't around, like something was missing. When they sat together to eat dinner in silence, those were the moments in which she was the happiest. 

Rangiku was asleep one night when Gin knelt by her side, pulling the thin blanket up around her thin form. It was dark in the hut. "Sorry, Rangiku. But I gotta go now." He opened his eyes for a moment, and they flashed red. Then he closed them again, and when Rangiku woke up in the morning, he was gone.

She waited for him for days, even to the point where she swore she would not eat until he came back. He never did.

As she sat down for her first meal in days, without Gin, she wondered why the soup was so salty.

---

She had to learn how to grow up without him. He wasn't there to protect her anymore -- she had to fend for herself. She didn't cry anymore. She didn't show weakness. She purposefully blocked out all painful memories.

Then she realized she couldn't live like this. If she truly wanted to be strong, she had to be the kind of person who others depended on. She went to the academy so she could become a shinigami. 

As soon as she arrived at the academy, however, she spotted a flash of silvery-white hair and stopped in her tracks. Instead of Gin, she saw a short boy with sharp green eyes, a stern look on his face.

Shaken, she blinked and continued on her way. It was time to stop chasing what she couldn't catch.

---

Rangiku learned after a few years in attendance at the academy that an Ichimaru Gin from Rukongai had become the vice-captain of the fifth division in the Gotei 13. She swallowed. When they were younger, Gin did seem to possess extraordinary spiritual power. It didn't surprise her.

During the procession, she moved her way up to the front of the crowd. Sure enough, there he was, in shihakushou, the fifth division badge wrapped around his arm. She had to press a hand to her chest as he approached. His spiritual power pulsed, sending her an indication of how strong he had become.

His eyes opened slightly upon seeing her in the crowd, his head turning to face her. She found it difficult to meet his eyes, and looked down until he passed. Even as she slipped back into the crowd to disappear, his trained eye followed her until the strawberry blonde hair diminished in the distance.

--- 

"Did you need something from me, Ichimaru-fukutaichou?"

A sly smile. "C'mon now, Rangiku. You don't need to be so formal with me. We've known each other for a long time now."

"Alright then, Gin," she pressed. "What do you want?"

It confounded her to no end. The last time she had seen him was a year ago, when she spotted him in that procession celebrating his promotion to vice-captain. He had seen her, she knew he had seen her, and he had done nothing until today, when at random he decided to stop her on her way to Kidou. Why? Why now, when she had nearly forgotten that he existed?

He didn't respond; he merely smiled like he always did.

A sigh. "Well, if you won't tell me, I'll just be on my way then."

"If I say I missed you, will you stay?"

She frowned. "You can't fool me with your lies anymore. I'm not as weak as I used to be."

"Eh...? What happened to the cute little Ran-chan who'd get scared whenever I went out and didn't tell her?"

She surprised herself with how emotionless her face had stayed. "She grew up."

In the blink of an eye, he was behind her, wide grin wiped clean off his face, a very soft expression that she had never seen before in its place. She was about to use flash step to get behind him, in return for catching her off guard, but her limbs froze solid when his thin hand brushed wiry fingers through strawberry blonde hair. "What..."

"I wish she didn't." His eyes opened, chilling her to the bone. In that split second, she saw something that she never thought she would see in her friend's eyes: greed. And just like that, he was gone, vanished, as if he hadn't ever been there in the first place. 

The man who stopped her just now was not the Gin she had grown up with. The Gin she was friends with was sweet and mild-mannered. He lacked the thirst for power that Rangiku had seen in this stranger's eyes just now.

"...Good day to you, Ichimaru-fukutaichou," She mumbled to a man who couldn't hear her, and continued on her way.

He had always been terrible at listening. This was no exception.

---

_"__I'm kinda disappointed... that you couldn't hold onto me a little longer._

_Goodbye, Rangiku._

_Sorry."_

end


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